The President of the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI" Mykhailo Honchar explained the unexpected reaction of the Russian authorities to the statement of French leader Emmanuel Macron regarding Paris's intentions to provide a nuclear umbrella to Europe. As it turned out, one of the main reasons is that France's nuclear forces are not part of NATO's integrated command structure, so the president can make decisions on nuclear deterrence without being guided by the demands of his allies in the Alliance.
Points of attention
- France's nuclear arsenal includes air and naval components, showcasing its diverse and impactful nuclear capabilities.
- President Macron emphasizes France's nuclear forces' ability to inflict unacceptable damage on any aggressor state's key centers, ensuring deterrence and independence.
Macron issues new challenge to Russia
What is important to understand is that in 1980, French nuclear forces approached a level that the Soviet Union considered a threat of “unacceptable harm” to the USSR.
As Mykhailo Honchar notes, at that time France had about 540 warheads. However, since then the nuclear arsenal has been reduced by almost 50%, and the ground component of nuclear forces has also been eliminated.
Apparently, Moscow believed that Macron could say anything, but he was unlikely to do anything, let alone rattle nuclear weapons. Of course, the French nuclear potential is an order of magnitude smaller than Russia's, but it is quite enough for the total destruction of the European part of Mordor (Russia — ed.).
Mykhailo Honchar
“Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI"
According to experts, Paris currently has 290 nuclear weapons at its disposal, of which about 280 are deployed.
Mykhailo Honchar draws attention to the fact that the air component of France's nuclear forces includes 50 Rafale fighter-bombers, including 40 Air Force aircraft and 10 Navy carrier-based aircraft for delivering ASMP cruise missiles.
There are 40 thermonuclear warheads for the French Air Force and 10 warheads for the Navy's naval aviation. The power of a monoblock warhead is 300 kilotons. The naval component of France's nuclear forces is 4 Triomphe-class submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The French Navy has two types of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs): M51.1 and M51.2 with a range of over 9,000 km. Each SLBM can carry 16 M51 SLBMs, each missile carrying 5-6 warheads with a capacity of 100 kilotons each.
Unlike the United Kingdom, whose nuclear forces are too closely tied to those of the United States, France, although a member of NATO, its nuclear forces are not part of the Alliance's integrated command structure.
France thus remains independent in its decision-making and freedom of action within the framework of its international obligations, including in the event of any threat of blackmail that may be directed against the country in the event of a crisis.
President Macron explained in 2020 that France's nuclear forces are capable of inflicting completely unacceptable damage on the centers of power of an aggressor state, its political, economic, and military nerve centers.
Mykhailo Honchar
President of the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI"
